We’ve just come across this section of the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce website which has some suggestions for bike tours, and we thought we’ll share it with you, because we believe they did a very nice job with it.
It presents 9 back road bike tours with very detailed descriptions of the routes and their level of difficulty; every type of cyclers is going to find one for him/her abilities. The presentation is very inviting and they made it very practical as well: each route has its own PDF for you to print and take on the road with you. We also liked the fact that they included some historic facts about the buildings and villages you see along the way… why not learn a little more about the places you are biking through as you are enjoying the landscape… and pedaling hard!
Here are the routes:
- Berlin Pond Loop - 5 Miles -for casual cyclists – dirt road
– Calais Historic Hamlets - about 20 Miles – reasonable degree of fitness – unpaved
– Mad River Valley Recreation Path - 4.5 Miles – flat to gently rolling – mostly unpaved
– Mad River Valley Tour - 16.3 Miles (5.7 Mile Optional Extension) – degree of fitness required – option more difficult
– Montpelier – East Montpelier - 16.5 Miles (9.2 Mile Option) – quite hilly but can avoid the climb out of Montpelier
– Northfield Tour – 12.3 Miles – 2 very steep hills – mostly unpaved
– Lake Tour – 7 Miles – hilly terrain and dirt roads – Calais and Woodbury areas
– Waterbury – Stowe – 22.2 Miles – few fairly rugged climbs mixed with easy terrain and exhalarating descents – half paved and half dirt road
– Websterville Loop - 13.7 Miles – few good climbs – unpaved, gravel roads
In addition to the bike tours, the site has some other interesting information such as bicycle organizations, bike tours companies and even bike races.
So check it out, enjoy the tours and tell us what you thought! And check back with us soon… we have articles on the Champlain Bikeway and the famous Route 100 bike road in the works!
Link to Central Vermont Back Road Bike Tours.